Many mobile electronic communication devices (including cellular phones, tablet computers, smart phones, and other handheld devices capable of communicating with a server) are capable of operating video game software, other game software, and application software. Most modern mobile electronic communication devices also allow users to download, purchase, or otherwise install new software (sometimes called “apps”). As mobile electronic communication device technology has advanced, the software available for these devices has become more robust. For example, most current mobile electronic communication devices include high-resolution color screens that can support games with detailed color graphics, and more content may generally fit onto these displays than on screens of older mobile devices. As a result, using application software on mobile electronic communication devices has become more user-friendly and efficient, and playing games on such devices has become a popular mode of entertainment.
In addition to the increased popularity of software on mobile electronic communication devices, social media networks and media publications, which may be designed for promotion through social media networks, have also experienced a surge of popularity in recent years. For example, social media networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Vine, and Pinterest, are presently popular on the Internet. Likewise, publications for news, stocks, entertainment, and sports exist on the Internet, and several publications have been adapted for circulation and disbursement through social media networks or through various news feed mechanisms (such as, for example, RSS).
Despite the popularity of mobile application software and social networking, there is not currently a system or method for providing a way for a user to view and/or access a social media and/or other media stream within a third-party mobile application environment. For example, a user may want to be able to read updates from various social media networks without closing or switching out of a mobile game application. Switching between applications, screens, and/or windows to access various interfaces and information sources can be tedious and time consuming, and it also requires a user to exit or switch out of, or potentially minimize, a mobile application in order to access and view social and other media streams or information.
The recent surge in technical capabilities of mobile electronic communication devices has also spawned attractive new promotional possibilities. Because an increasingly large number of people worldwide own mobile electronic communication devices, many third parties may wish to advertise within the screen of a mobile electronic communication device. For example, when a user plays a game on a mobile electronic communication device, the user's full attention is generally directed to the screen of the mobile electronic communication device. Therefore, providing in-game advertising space in the palm of the user's hand is an attractive proposition for both buyers and sellers of the space. One problem with providing advertising space in the palm of a user's hand, however, is that in-game advertising often requires full use of the screen of the mobile electronic communication device. Therefore, a user is forced to switch between the game and other applications in order to, for example, access and view social and other media streams or information. Valuable advertising time is lost during this time when the user's full attention is diverted from the screen displaying the advertisements.
Further, advertisements within an application, such as game software, on a mobile electronic communication device may be presented in various ways. For example, the background of a game might contain a permanent or static advertisement for a third party. In most cases, this advertisement would generate revenue for the maker of the game, while also serving as a valuable promotional opportunity for the third party. However, such advertisements may lack the adaptability and customizability to be able to target particular users, as well as to be changed to reflect, for example, a different third party and/or an updated advertisement. Additionally, many advertisements are presently displayed as banner ads within mobile application software. Such advertisements may be time-cycled in order to display multiple advertisements in the same space over an elapsed period of time. Banner ads are often general in nature and are not targeted toward a specific audience. For example, such advertisements do not take a user's social media activity, mobile game activity, or device usage information into account when selecting the most applicable and/or effective advertisements to display to a particular user.
It is the object of the present disclosure to provide an integrated social media and other media stream, which may include advertisements, into the display of a mobile application to allow a user to simultaneously use the third party application and view and interact with social media. It is an additional object of the present disclosure to provide systems and methods for adaptively selecting social and other media posts as well as advertisements for display to a particular user.